Linewalker
by TLCFTW
Summary: A Keyblade master who summons Heartless, an incomplete Keyblade, a comatose pseudo-princess, and, at the center of it all, a boy who won't stop at anything to save the love of his life. Will he succeed, or will the Darkness swallow him first? My 1st fic.
1. Prologue, sort of

This is not the life I desired. This is not what I want to be doing.

I stare down at the root cause of my problems, lying at my feet: a single key, four feet in length and constructed like a sword. The guard and pommel are obsidian, but the cylindrical neck and teeth of the key are deep crimson. It reminds me of the blood shed by those taken by the Darkness.

I kick the thing, but it gives no indication that it was hurt by my action. No grunts, no complaints. No accusatory stares.

"Your Majesty."

I hate it when Darkbell calls me that, but it ignores my every attempt to modify its behavior. I don't look away from the keyblade as I address it, mostly because I don't know how to make eye contact with it; I can't tell where it sees from to begin with. My best guess would be the crest. "What is it?"

"This world has a higher concentration of Darkness than the last."

"Is it the Source?"

"I can't say for sure."

Of course it can't be that easy. "Where's the highest concentration of dark energy?" I think I already know, but Darkbell's senses are more reliable.

"The castle."

"Great, another princess," I groan. I flex my fingers, and the keyblade flashes into my hand. "Well," I sigh, "might as well get this over with." I want to get back as fast as possible.

Darkbell's aura shifts into something like a condescending smile, and I know that he's heard my thought.

I sigh again. I never wanted this.


	2. Chapter 1, Ends and Beginnings

**Forgot to mention it in the first chap, but please comment if you have anything to say. Flames are welcome with open arms. **

**Here's the second installment. It's a fair bit longer than the first, so enjoy!**

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><p>My 'journey' started when I fell in love with my childhood friend, Lyra. Yes, I'll freely admit it to anyone but her. If she finds out, it'll be nothing but trouble.<p>

Anyway, our lives together were the epitome of normalcy. School, socializing, smiles, stupid jokes, laughter, days that I thought would never end.

Of course, they did, and in the worst way.

The day our normalcy was shattered was strange from the beginning. Even when I woke up, I had the sneaking suspicion that I was being watched – closely – by someone or something sinister.

I brushed it aside and got ready for school. It's close enough to walk to, and Lyra and I, being neighbors, often went together. She was waiting for me that day, triumphant at her rare success in beating me to our meeting spot.

"Ha! Look who finally decided to show up!" she gloated, hands on hips.

"Yeah, yeah," I sighed, rubbing the back of my head. "I bet it's real easy to wake up early when you stay up all night with your books."

She gasped dramatically. "How did you know?"

"I guess you're just an easy read." We started walking together then, chatting amiably. Or perhaps it would be better to say that she did most of the talking while I just listened and responded when it was appropriate. I don't remember what we talked about, but I know it wasn't important. There weren't any important things to discuss, in sharp contrast to my life today.

We stopped suddenly, frozen by some kind of sixth sense. Our eyes were drawn to the sky, where the sun and clouds had been replaced with a night sky laden with stars. Those stars grew brighter, more piercing, and one blackened and descended upon us with frightening speed. There was an explosion that blew everything nearby into dust, with the exception of the two of us, and I found that a strange key had materialized in my hand.

"What the—" But, before I could finish my half-formed expression of surprise, the blade jerked in my grasp, pulling itself up and forward. I looked on in horror as the tip of the key pushed itself straight through Lyra's chest. "Lyra!" It pulled itself free just as suddenly, without leaving any sign that it had just stabbed her, and she collapsed in a heap. "Lyra!"

But there was no time to take it easy and leisurely carry her back into the house, for the creatures known as the Heartless came in the keyblade's wake. At the time, I'd known nothing about fighting; I'd grown up in a relatively peaceful suburb in my world of Harbinger Hallows. However, when you're desperately clinging to a loved one and surrounded by Heartless, you don't let little things like skill get in the way.

I dragged Lyra along under my left arm and hacked and slashed my way through the Heartless with my right, fighting my way through her front door and blockading ourselves in her room. "What the hell is this?" I sobbed. Yes, I cried. Shamelessly. Fear and confusion had turned me into an emotional wreck, but I had to put that aside to protect Lyra.

I don't know how long I fought, how many times I swung my keyblade, how many Heartless I beat down; all I know is that I succeeded in protecting Lyra while she slept. They didn't even touch her.

And soon, I adopted a new routine: fight wave after wave of relentless Heartless, check on Lyra's condition in between, resume fighting. I quickly became more adept with the keyblade, weaving together strings of combos in order to destroy the enemies in front of me. Soon, my body was moving in ways that I didn't think possible and I gained experience and combat skills that would aid me in the future. However, I took no pride in my new-found strength. There wasn't time for hubris. If there was anything that gave me pleasure in those hellish days, it was in every scar that Lyra didn't receive, every moment of rest I gave her to recover from whatever damage she had received from the keyblade.

My new routine came to an end within days of its beginning. This was not because I had destroyed every Heartless, nor because they stopped coming after us, nor because Lyra had woken, nor even because of my rapidly deteriorating condition. No, it ended with the arrival of a being much more powerful than the Heartless.

It happened in the middle of a particularly difficult wave of Heartless. My fatigue was starting to catch up to me, but I didn't show any weakness. Just as the last dregs of the wave made themselves present, they were wiped out in a flash of gold.

"Whew," a voice called out from behind the cloud of black Heartless residue, "this area is something else. The rest of the world only has a few shadows here and there, but this place is littered with Invisibles, Novashadows, Armored Knights… Coulda sworn I saw a Stealth Sneak… But, then again, maybe it was just thin air." He chuckled at his own joke.

"Who's there?" I shouted, voice cracking from disuse and dehydration. The figure stepped forward, hefting its weapon onto its shoulder. I gawked at the creature, clothed all in black and barely four feet tall, the last foot made up of huge, rounded ears that were covered by a hood that could only be custom-made.

"Mickey Mouse, at your service. Are you the one who was fighting them? Well done." I pointed my keyblade at him, and he flinched away. "Whoa, now, I'm not your enemy."

"Leave us," I croaked. "Now."

"Oh, there were two of you in here?" He asked, looking around my knees to where Lyra lay. I took a swing at him, but he dodged it easily. "I told you, I'm not-" I followed up with a kick directed at his head, and he blocked it with his keyblade. That was the first time I'd gotten a good look at it, and I immediately recognized it as a weapon similar to my own. "Wow, what a ferocious fighting style. You're pretty good. Who taught you how to wield a keyblade?"

"Leave!" I said again.

"Then again, I guess the better question would be, 'how are you still standing with all those wounds?'"

I'd received at least one hit for every two attacks I gave out, so my body was in tatters that I didn't have time to treat.

"You won't last at this rate."

"I'll last as long as I need to!" I took another swing at him. He batted it aside completely, ripping the keyblade from my bloody grip. I fell to a knee from the force, and he swung his keyblade in an arc at my head. I made to block the blow with my hands, but the teeth of the blade stopped just short of hitting me.

"Curaga," he said, and a strange warmth washed over me. I realized with a start that all of my wounds had closed. "Now, let's see what we can do for your little friend here." I scooped up keyblade, but froze as he threw his own aside. "Please let me help you. I won't do anything to hurt her. I promise." I lowered my weapon, and he took that as permission to examine Lyra. "Hmm… She's not hurt, per se, but her heart is slowly weakening. What happened?" He noted my tight-lipped expression. "I can't save her if you don't tell me anything."

"_Can_ you save her?"

"That depends. Even if I can't, though, I have a bunch of pals that definitely can."

I stared into his eyes for a long time before finally agreeing to tell him my story. He listened intently, and I knew that not a single detail had escaped his attention.

"So, the Keyblade. Who gave it to ya?"

"Nobody," I said simply. "It fell from the sky."

He frowned. "Never heard of that. You sure somebody didn't say you could inherit theirs?"

"I think I would remember that."

"You'd be surprised."

"Now tell me how to help her."

He folded his arms and closed his eyes. "Well… I don't know how to do it. All I can figure is that your Keyblade is absorbing Lyra's heart for some reason."

"Then I'll just break it."

His eyes snapped open and he shot me an incredulous glance. "Huh?"

I swung my Keyblade at Lyra's doorframe with all my might. It cut through the wood and went deep into the drywall, but that was to be expected; the thing was designed to be able to take hits like that, anyway. I slid underneath the weapon on my back and placed both of my feet on the handle, applying as much force as I could muster in an attempt to snap the thing in half.

"That's not gonna work," the mouse warned.

I ignored him. I thought I felt it give a little, but it turned out to be the drywall giving way, freeing the blade. I let out a growl of frustration and punched it. All I got for my effort was a broken knuckle. Mickey sighed and cast a 'Cure' on it.

"Y'see?"

I laid back on the floor, staring at the ceiling. "You said you had friends who could help?"

"I sure do!"

I didn't know whether to envy or despise his pep in a situation as grim as this. "Take us to them."

He hesitated. "Er… Well, I can send _you _there lickety-split, but your friend probably shouldn't be moved."

"You said there wasn't anything wrong with her body, right?"

"Right. What I mean is that you two shouldn't travel together."

"Why not?" I demanded.

"Your Keyblade… It's…"

"Then I'll leave it here."

"The Keyblade is a part of you; no matter where you go, it will always be with you, so long as you are strong of heart."

"So, to stop it from draining her… I have to leave her?"

Mickey gave me a pained look, as though he was trying to express what I was feeling for me. "Distance can only be good for her condition."

"How far away is this friend of yours?"

"He's in another world."

That was a significant blow. I'd never been more than a house away from her for as long as we've both been alive. How was I supposed to deal with being an entire world apart?

"Those things will get her if I leave."

"I'll stay here and protect her from the Heartless."

I frowned at him, not bothering to hide my skepticism. "You sure have a lot of time on your hands."

"I'm needed here, and I swear that I won't leave for as long as that's the case." I normally wouldn't have trusted the word of a complete stranger, not even under those dire circumstances, but there was something in his expression that reminded me of the gleam that Lyra would sometimes get in her eye.

I looked at Lyra. She hadn't woken once in all the time since the Heartless first struck, and the only evidence of her health was in the steady rise and fall of her chest. I promised, right then and there, that I would travel to every world there was if it meant saving her.

"Not a scratch." I almost hit myself for talking about Lyra like she was a car, but Mickey seemed to understand.

"You have nothing to worry about."

I laughed wryly. "If only that were true. How do I get to your friend's world?"

He snapped his fingers, and, after a moment of silence, there was a crash from just outside the house. "Gosh, I need to get Chip and Dale to fix up that auto-landing feature."

"What was that?"

"That was my Gummi ship. It'll take you where you need to go in a few hours. When you get there, find a fella named Yen Sid and show him your Keyblade. If anyone knows how to help, he does." I didn't like it. There were too many uncertain factors, too many places where everything could go wrong. But I nodded anyway, simply because I didn't know what else could possibly be done. I was cornered by a lack of options. I turned to leave, feeling almost defeated. "Ah, wait, one last thing," Mickey called. I looked over my shoulder at him. "What's your name?"

"Drake."

"Good luck, Drake."

I opened the door and stepped out into the hall, then out the front door and into the street. A strange, blocky ship sat in the middle of the road, surrounded by a ring of Heartless. I cut through them with relative ease and climbed into the hatch that had opened for me, settling into the only seat available as the ship took off. It was my intention to stay awake for the trip, but I was asleep long before I even left my home world, closing my eyes for the first time in days.


	3. Chapter 2, Explanations and Plans

Here's chapter three. Reviews welcomed as always, flames only slightly less so. Enjoy.

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><p>When I awoke, I found that the Gummi ship was idling just outside the top window of a lopsided tower. I examined the control panel for some kind of indication of what I was supposed to do next, but it was programmed in some weird foreign language. I placed a palm on the hatch, and it opened at my touch. Without giving any thought to how high up I must have been, I leapt from the Gummi ship through the window. I rolled as I hit the stone floor, colliding with a bookcase full of strange instruments. They rattled ominously, but nothing appeared to have broken.<p>

I looked around the room. It appeared to be some sort of office or study, its walls covered in books and items I couldn't identify. There were no signs of life, but two doors to choose from. Before I could search myself for a coin, the smaller of the two was thrown wide, revealing an incredibly tall man in long blue robes and wearing a hat about as tall as Mickey, both heavily adorned with silver stars and crescent moons. His face seemed to be frozen into a piercing glare.

"You're Yin Sid," I told him. Some instinct had informed me that this was the man the mouse had sent me to see.

"You're an acquaintance of the King's." It wasn't a question, but I shook my head anyway.

"I don't know any kings. A guy named Mickey Mouse told me to come and get help from you."

He pursed his lips. "You do have that helpless look about you. However, whether or not I am capable of helping you remains to be seen."

"I've had enough indecision, I need certainty."

He took his seat behind the desk, but he still felt like the tallest man in the room. "Then tell me what it is that you need help with."

So I told him everything that had happened in the past few days; about the keyblade, the Heartless, Lyra's condition, and what Mickey had said. Yen Sid didn't react at all to my tale, as though everything I'd told him was as ordinary to him as a weather report. I almost envied him for it, until I realized that that probably meant he had seen worse.

"Show me this Keyblade."

I looked at my hands. "Hold on, I left it in the ship."

"Simply imagine that it is in your hands."

I blinked and did as he directed, and it appeared in my hand with a flash of light.

"Huh."

Yen Sid motioned to the weapon. "May I?" I tossed it to him, and he caught it easily. "Hmm…"

"Well?"

"Impatience may get you somewhere more quickly, but it may not be a place you want to be," he quipped. I was about to say something rude, but he continued. "I can tell two things about this Keyblade that make it… unusual. The first is that it is an original."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that rather than inheriting it from a Master, you created this Keyblade from scratch, something that hasn't been done in many generations." He seemed quite a bit more grim than impressed. "However, that, in itself, is the reason for your trouble; the second, and most important, difference is that your Keyblade is woefully incomplete."

It looked complete to me, though I had only Mickey's to compare it to. "How so?"

"The problem lies in the legend of the creation of the first Keyblade, which you've more or less confirmed to be true. You see, in the original legend, it is said that the first Keyblade was a manifestation of the powerful bond of a Princess of Heart and the man closest to her, her Knight of Heart, in response to a dire threat to the Princess. The Knight formed the frame of the blade with his heart, and the Princess fueled its power with her heart." He pointed to the Keyblade. "The main problem with this Keyblade is that the core, the source of its power, hasn't been created properly. Now, there are a few possible reasons this could have happened. For example, for each given generation, there are only seven Princesses of Heart, and this Lyra of yours is not one of them. However, this process could not have even begun if her heart was not at least on the level of a Princess of Heart's. However, it's possible that those seven are afforded some form of secret power that has yet to be discovered, making it impossible for anyone else to craft the perfect Keyblade. The other possible source of error would be that the strength of your bonds is insufficient."

"That's not an issue," I immediately responded.

He didn't question my certainty. "In any case, because its power source isn't complete, it doesn't operate on a closed system like the rest, instead relying on the pseudo-princess Lyra as an external power source, much like a battery."

"How does one become a Princess of Heart?"

"They are chosen, seven at a time, from among females with the highest purity of heart."

"So you can't create an eighth."

"That is impossible," he confirmed.

"Would Lyra become one if I were to find one of the princesses and k-" I shook my head and rubbed my eyes in irritation.

Yin Sid's gaze sharpened, something that should not have been possible. "That was an ugly thought."

"Yeah. I'm already getting desperate."

"I suppose that desperation is evidence of the depth of your feelings. However, if you proceed rashly, you'll find yourself in a far worse position than you already are. That method would not have worked; the Princesses are chosen seven at a time. All seven Princesses would have to perish before a new set can be chosen, and there is still no guarantee that your Lyra would be among them. Besides, to think you could get away with murdering all seven is a sore underestimation of the Princesses and the people who protect them."

"And I can't build Lyra's future on top of any bodies." I met his gaze again. "If I can't make Lyra into a Princess, will a Princess be able to complete the Keyblade?"

"That is your most reliable recourse."

"What about getting rid of the Keyblade altogether?"

"A Keyblade can't be so easily disposed of."

"What does it take?"

He hesitated, as though debating whether or not to tell me the truth. "You must lose your heart to the darkness, something I would not encourage."

"But it _would_ save Lyra, wouldn't it?" I pressed.

"Yes, it would. Although, I believe you mentioned something about not saving her at the cost of someone's life."

"I can be the exception that proves the rule."

"That's the only thing your death would prove."

His expression had been growing even more severe, so I decided to change the subject. "So, these Princesses… I don't suppose they all hang out in one world?"

"They are each in separate worlds, and most do not have the means to leave."

"Of course it can't be that easy."

"The hardest things to obtain are the most worthy of pursuit."

"No need to convince me of anything," I assured him. "I'm not going to be discouraged by little things like distance or time or difficulty."

"That's admirable." He pulled a blank sheet of paper from a pile on his desk and a quill from its ink well. "I'm going to send a letter to Mickey to inform him of the situation."

"It looks like he'll be sticking around with Lyra for longer than we expected."

Yen Sid's eyebrows touched. "I don't know what he told you, but the King does not have that kind of time."

"King?"

"Yes, Mickey is the King of Disney Castle," he explained.

My frustration was starting to boil over again. "So you're saying that Lyra should just be left unguarded?"

"I said nothing of the sort." He seemed unperturbed by my outburst. "She will be moved to the King's world."

I forced myself to calm down. "Can they protect her there?"

"Disney Castle is a small world, but it is the most suitable for hiding from the Heartless; the entire world is perfectly impervious to the powers of darkness, so the Heartless cannot even enter. If she is kept there, then the only thing she will need protection from is your Keyblade." A small laugh bubbled at the back of his throat. "Besides, I'm sure that Queen Minnie would be thrilled to have a guest."

I stood in silence for a few minutes as Yen Sid finished his letter. After signing it, he folded it into a paper airplane and tossed it out his window, where it disappeared in a flash of light.

"Now," he said, "while we await the King's response, let me teach you some skills that may assist you on your journey."

Yen Sid then began to attempt to teach me magic. I say 'attempt' because it quickly became evident that I had no aptitude whatsoever for sorcery, to the point that I was physically incapable of performing it.

"That is… unusual for a Keyblade bearer," he told me. The way he said it made me wonder if 'unusual' really meant 'unheard of' or just 'bad'.

"Is there anything else you can teach me?"

"Key Bearers usually rely upon magic and the Keyblade in combat, though I'm sure I don't need to teach you anything about the latter."

That was probably true. "But there has to be more than just that. How do people without either of those things take care of themselves?"

"Some learn to harness the powers of light. However, since magic is based in the light, you would not be able to control it."

"Then what about the powers of Darkness?"

He stiffened. "I neither practice nor teach those kinds of powers."

"But you seem like someone who makes it his business to be knowledgeable. I'm sure you would be able to point me in the right direction."

"The only right direction when it comes to the powers of darkness is away."

"We both know I'll need power for this trip."

"There are some kinds of power that nobody needs," he countered.

"I'm not in a position to be picky."

"You will not learn anything from me, and any attempt to coerce me into teaching you how to destroy yourself will fall upon deaf ears."

I sighed, defeated by his stubbornness. However, I knew that there would be other opportunities to learn, perhaps even in a different world.

There was a second flash of light from outside, and another airplane letter flew in through the window. Yen Sid pulled it out of the air, shaking it open as he did so. "It appears as though the King has accepted my suggestion. He has also generously allowed for you to borrow his Gummi ship for the duration of your quest. You should be honored."

"Nice guy."

"Perhaps more so than you shall ever know." I could tell that I hadn't exactly charmed the man, but it seemed as though very few people were capable of impressing him. Besides, I making friends wasn't exactly a priority. "You should leave posthaste."

"Yeah, time's not exactly on my side. How do I get the Gummi ship to take off?"

"Simply press 'World Map' on the console and then select the world you desire."

I felt as though he had done a really great job of telling me everything except what I wanted to know. "Okay, great, but my problem is that I can't read those nonsense rectangles it spits out."

He nodded. "I see. What world did you come from?"

"Harbinger Hollows, I guess, but I don't know if that's what everyone else calls it."

He got up and perused his bookshelf. "A world's name is almost certainly universal among all those who know of its existence." He pulled out an especially large book and presented it to me. "This tome will help you interpret our language. You may borrow this as well."

"Thanks," I said, taking it from him. I couldn't tell what was written on the front, but it probably meant something along the lines of 'Gibberish to English Dictionary'. Yen Sid wrote out seven lines of blocks on a sheet of paper and handed it to me.

"This is a list of the seven worlds that the Princesses of Heart reside in. Proceed quickly and without rushing."

I was getting tired of the riddlespeak. "I'll see what I can do."

"And good luck."

As much as he didn't seem to like me, I could tell that he was sincere. "Thanks."

I approached the window, throwing the book into the open cockpit before jumping in after it. The glass closed around me and the main screen in the dashboard lit up. After a full minute of trying to match up characters on the screen to the ones in the book, I just flipped to the English section and looked up 'world' and 'map', punching the corresponding button in triumph. A list of what I could only assume were world names popped up, and I clicked the first one that best fit one of the names Yen Sid had written.

I only just managed to wave at him before the ship tore its way out of the atmosphere and into Interspace.

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><p>Yen Sid's letter to King Mickey (Translated from Tetris-speak)<p>

_Dear Mickey, _

_I have just met the boy you sent to me, and we have worked out a solution between the two of us that will suitably resolve the situation for everyone involved, provided that the boy does not deviate from the plan._

_I have sent him on a journey to find a Princess of Heart who can complete his Keyblade for him. However, given his complete lack of people skills and inexperience when dealing with other worlds, I expect his trip to be a long one. Asking you to remain with the girl for that such a duration is irresponsible, given the other people you could be saving with that time. Thus, I propose that you bring the girl to Disney Castle and ask the Queen to take care of her._

_Finally, I must write to you about the boy himself. I could tell just by looking at him, but speaking with him has further secured me in my belief. Your Majesty, that boy is dangerous. He is a serious threat to himself and possibly to others. He is almost certainly talented in the ways of Darkness, and his desperation and fear for his loved one will drive him to seek power indiscriminately. When next you meet him, he may very well be changed beyond recognition. Take caution in your dealings with him._

_Sincerely yours, _

_Yen Sid_

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><p>Thanks for reading. Not sure how soon I can update, but let's shoot for sometime in the next two weeks. Until then,<p>

_TLCFTW  
><em>


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